France and Britain Seal Deals on Nuclear Cooperation

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (L) and France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) react as they shake hands during a joint press conference at the end of the French-British summit, at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on March 10, 2023 (AFP)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (L) and France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) react as they shake hands during a joint press conference at the end of the French-British summit, at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on March 10, 2023 (AFP)
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France and Britain Seal Deals on Nuclear Cooperation

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (L) and France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) react as they shake hands during a joint press conference at the end of the French-British summit, at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on March 10, 2023 (AFP)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (L) and France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) react as they shake hands during a joint press conference at the end of the French-British summit, at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on March 10, 2023 (AFP)

France and Britain signed two energy partnership agreements on Friday, emphasizing nuclear power as a secure source of low-carbon energy.

The deals were announced during a bilateral summit in Paris spanning energy, defense and migration.

"France and the UK are working together so that never again can the likes of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin weaponize our energy security," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told a news conference in Paris.

"We are creating a future where every watt of energy powering our homes and industry will come from secure, sustainable and reliable sources."

French President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped the British could share their know-how in offshore wind - a technology that France has struggled to scale up.

Under the first of the two agreements, France will consider building electricity interconnectors with its neighbor to increase cross-border energy flows.

Both countries will also cooperate on clean-energy technology, such as hydrogen and carbon capture.

A second nuclear-specific agreement establishes a working group on nuclear innovation and safety, with both countries building nuclear plants, both full-sized and small modular reactors. Reducing reliance on Russia for civil nuclear goods was also mentioned as a priority.

"We have a common ambition, and that is to exit fossil fuels," Macron said.

French utility EDF is already building a nuclear plant in Britain, Sizewell C, with a second project in the pipeline, Hinkley Point C.



NKorea Fires Short-range Ballistic Missiles for 2nd Time in a Week

People watch a news broadcast on a television screen at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, 18 September 2024. EPA/JEON HEON-KYUN
People watch a news broadcast on a television screen at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, 18 September 2024. EPA/JEON HEON-KYUN
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NKorea Fires Short-range Ballistic Missiles for 2nd Time in a Week

People watch a news broadcast on a television screen at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, 18 September 2024. EPA/JEON HEON-KYUN
People watch a news broadcast on a television screen at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, 18 September 2024. EPA/JEON HEON-KYUN

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday toward its east coast, South Korea and Japan said, days after Pyongyang unveiled a uranium enrichment facility and vowed to beef up its nuclear arsenal.
The missiles lifted off from Kaechon, north of the capital Pyongyang, at around 6:50 a.m. (2150 GMT Tuesday) in a northeast direction and flew about 400 km (249 miles), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, without specifying how many were fired and where they landed.
"We strongly condemn North Korea's missile launch as a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula," the JSC said in a statement, vowing overwhelming responses to any further provocations.
About 30 minutes after its first missile notice, Japan's coast guard said North Korea fired another ballistic missile, Reuters reported.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said at least one of the missiles fell near the North's eastern inland coast and that the launches "cannot be tolerated."
The US Indo-Pacific Command said on X that it was aware of the launches and consulting closely with Seoul and Tokyo.
The North fired several short-range ballistic missiles last Thursday, the first such launch in more than two months, which it later described as a test of a new 600-mm multiple launch rocket system.
South Korea's JCS has said the launch might have been to test the weapons for export to Russia, amid intensifying military cooperation between the two countries.
The United States, South Korea and Ukraine, among other countries, have accused Pyongyang of supplying rockets and missiles to Moscow for use in the war in Ukraine, in return for economic and other military assistance.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who is visiting Russia this week to attend conferences, met her counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday and discussed ways to promote bilateral ties, the Russian foreign ministry said on its website.
Wednesday's missile launches also came days after the isolated country for the first time showed images of centrifuges that produce fuel for its nuclear bombs, as leader Kim Jong Un visited a uranium enrichment facility and called for more weapons-grade material to boost the arsenal.